Conference turris::cooks

    I think my girlfriend bought some in Conran's on Rt 9 in Newton MA. 
    They come in various colors such as blue, yellow, red, etc...
    
    I'm sure I miss spelled the place, but it is across from the Chestnut
    Hill Mall; next to Milton's.
    
    -Gary
    
    

    LL Bean has some "gear" bags that are made from a strong mesh, which 
    work quite well for carrying groceries.  They come in three colors and
    sizes.

    
    They are also available at the Conran's in Porter Square, Cambridge,
    if that's more convenient.
    
    Diane
    

The Market Basket, Hudson, NH has them on a display as you walk in, I think 
for 1.99

	I bought one at the Drumlin Farm Gift Shop on Rt. 117
in Lincoln. (Mass. Audubon Society)

    Go to John Dellaria Salon in Lexington and buy some hair spray. 
    They'll give you a yellow string bag to carry it out in.
    
    Sheila

Re .4:

  It turns out to be Alexanders in Hudson, NH that has them.  I've called to 
confirm it.  That's where I'll go!

--Sharon

    Purity Chelmsford has them by the checkouts for $4.99, and the Elegant
    Farmer has them for more $$$.

    Crabtree & Evelyn in the Chestnut Hill Mall carries them, as well as
    the Lillian Vernon Catalog.
    
    Slight sidetrack; I bought some terrific heavy canvas bags at Bass Shoe
    in Shrewsbury and use them when I go grocery shopping.  No paper bags
    of plastic sacks necessary!
    
    
    Judi
    

    Where is Bass Shoe in Shrewsbury and what is it's full name?   I'd like
    to call them before I go.  Can you give directions?
    
    Gee, what a lucky break.  I need a new pair of thongs.
    
    Mary Lou  

    re .10
    
    The Bass Shoe Store was located in Shrewsbury Village.  I haven't been
    there in a while so it would probably be wise to call first, in case
    the store has moved.  The only other one I know about is in Fall River,
    in the same complex as Vanity Fair (Route 195, Fonce's Corner exit).
    
    
    Judi
    

    The Bass Shoe outlet is still in Olde Shrewsbury Village (you can get
    to it from Rt. 9 or Rt. 20). Not much to eat there, but great selection
    of shoes :-)
    
    Joan G.
    

    Thank you very much.  I just will eat the sole. :^}
    

    Well, you could always go to "Pinch 'n a Pound" while you're at
    Shrewsbury Village.  The have all sorts of things for sale by the pound
    - candy, cookies, spices, etc.
    
    The Christmas Tree Shop may well have string bags.  Never can tell what
    you'll find in that place!
    
    
    Judi
    

Sorry... No more Pinches and Pounds at Shrewsbury Village.  We were there just
after Christmas, and there seemed to be hardly anything there at all, compared
to last summer.  The Crystal shop was gone, too.  

In the meantime, you can also get the canvas totes at ... you guessed it ...
Idylwilde Farms!  For $5.  And at Spag's, too.  The advantage with those is
that little things don't fall out, and nobody can see what you bought (and 
neither can you if you're trying to figure out which bag has the milk in it).

Unfortunately, I always buy enough to fill too many of those bags.  So, at 
Idylwilde, I ask for boxes.  Which I recycle as often as possible, but I usually
end up with so many that the less functional ones get tossed.  I'm also trying
to break the habit of putting every little thing I buy at Idylwilde into its own
plastic bag.  The bags I do get are reused MANY times before disposal (or 
recylcling in the bin outside of Idylwilde).   

The real problem for me is the grocery store (Market Basket in Fitchburg).  
These folks occasionally tick me off.  I ask them for paper, they put it in 
plastic.  I say "PAPER" they just put the plastic bag into a paper bag.  When 
I tell them I DON'T WANT the plastic bag, they take the food out of it and 
throw it away.  Granted, this is an occasional event.  However, when it comes
using paper bags, they seem to want to put a few items in each and give me a
lot of bags.  I don't think these folks could deal with the "bring your own bag"
concept.  I do reuse paper bags (or at least save them for reuse... someday).


I'd be interested in hearing about the level of convenience people have in 
using permanent shopping bags (as it relates to volumes, etc.)  Also, any ideas
for reusing bags and boxes (including stores that accept used bags for reuse).


			jp

    Oh yes, Pinches and Pounds is *very* much there at Shrewsbury
    Village...it just moved its location...more or less across the way
    from the Bass Shoe Outlet. And it has a nice collection of
    coffees and spices, IMHO.
    
    Joan G.
     

    FWIW Shaw's encourages folks to re-use the paper bags by offering
    5 cents off per bag re-used.  

    Sue